Dismissal

I have good news and bad news and it all depends on if you like jury duty or not. I got dismissed. In fact, the whole entire panel got dismissed. After the lawyers struck the ones they didn’t want, there were not enough left for a trial. It was deemed a mistrial.

And it all took until 3:30 p.m. to get that finalized.

What a day. I have to say it was an interesting process and I learned alot. There were massive amounts of people in the jury pool. Hundreds. I was on the fourth panel and we had to walk three blocks to another building for the jury selection process. Did I mention I live in Texas where the highs are over 100 degrees this week? Lucky for me, it was only in the 90’s at 10 a.m. when I had to walk over there!

I was number 7 on the panel. Not such a good number when you are not wanting to be picked. I was sandwiched between two men in really close seats. Uncomfortable, you say? I would agree, especially after working up a sweat on the walk over.

Now, why is it so awkward to touch arms with people you don’t know? I had one guy on one side who apologized everytimes his arm brushed mine and then the other guy practically pinned my other arm down! Sigh…. I tried squeezing my arms in, but my muscles cramped up. Then I tried crossing my arms, but felt like I probably looked mad, so I finally gave in and let my one arm be pinned.

It is an interesting place, with interesting people. All shapes and sizes. All types of clothing and hair color. Different personalities, those that are awkward and those that are confident. I enjoyed looking at the reading material people brought. I only saw one romance novel, but I saw a Bible, a prayer book, and a Joyce Meyer book.

I’m sad to say I didn’t read my book. It was too crowded and things moved fairly fast. I had to pay attention a good portion of the day. So much so that I ended up getting a headache! I’m so not used to using my brain like that!

So, I did my civic duty. I offered myself up for a week of trial. (That is how long this trial would have lasted!) Hopefully, I won’t get called up again for quite some time.

Now, I have the week to do what I’ve been itching to do! REVISE & EDIT!

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23 thoughts on “Dismissal”

Whew! I think the day would have annoyed me! I hate all of the red tape of the government. Even if we're doing our duty, there is so much waste, especially of people's time. One hundred people had to lose a day of work, only to have a mistrial? See what I mean? But I'm really glad for you! This is your break! And you don't need it clogged up with something else! Happy editing!

Knock on wood VERY VERY HARD but I've never had to go to jury duty. You make it sound so… interesting? LOL Sounds like you got to view some interesting people… I always get the best book ideas when I'm people watching!

My first thoughts about your day jumped immediately to how you described the people around you. Unfortunately, I've been in some doctors' and dentists' waiting rooms lately for longer than I wanted to be there, and I found myself doing potential character studies. I watch mannerisms and listen to the way people talk to each other. I've tried to make very boring situations interesting. I just hope those people didn't catch me staring at them. 🙂

That's cool that you noticed what other people were reading while you were there. I got NOTHING done last time I went because it was so quick. The first pool of jurors to go into questioning, the second in the box to be questioned and the first to be sent home 😀

Sherrinda: So glad that's over for you. And yippee that you can work on your revisions now! God is faithful. Love, JenP.S. Way cool that you saw a Bible and a Joyce Meyer book– Jesus and Joyce are everywhere!